Jewel D. Aeilts, 96, of Carthage, passed away Wednesday, August 23, 2023 at 7:40 PM at
Memorial Hospital in Carthage.
Jewel was born August 14, 1927, in Britton, South Dakota. She was the daughter of Howard
and Ellen (Rapp) Carson. While living in South Dakota, she attended Langford High School and
received her teaching certificate from Northern State University in Aberdeen. On June 18, 1950,
Jewel married Lester Aeilts. He preceded her in death in 2006.
One of Jewel’s favorite Bible verses was Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord, with all your heart,
and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your
paths straight.” Through her trust and obedience to the Lord, Jewel served her family and
community faithfully in her time on earth. She worked as an elementary school teacher and also
taught Sunday School for years. Jewel intentionally invested in the lives of others by serving in
many local community organizations such as Girl Scouts, Meals on Wheels, Shepherd’s Pantry,
and reading to residents at local care centers. She loved writing personal notes to people for
special occasions, holidays, and birthdays. One of the many gifts to her grandchildren was a $5
bill tucked inside a note card for each holiday and her singing “Happy Birthday” over the phone.
She loved cheering on her children and grandchildren in different school and sporting events,
making it a priority to show up and be present. 
She loved her family deeply and prayed fervently for each individual every single day. In her
lifetime, Jewel modeled what it looked like to trust in the Lord and follow His will. We may never
fully know the impact that she had on earth, but it is safe to assume that we will be reaping the
many seeds planted by her obedience to the Lord throughout eternity.
Jewel is survived by her children, Mary (Sam) Wood, of Elvaston, IL, Marcia Hodges, of
Oakland, CA, Doug (Pam) Aeilts of Hannibal, MO, Faith Aeilts of Louisville, KY, Mark (Nina)
Aeilts of St. Joseph, MO and Marilyn (Jeff) Blucker of Galesburg, IL; grandchildren Sara (Bill)
Barker, Carrie Wood, Laura (Brandon) Gumbiner, Ryan (Lindsey) Wood, Jason (Ashley) Aeilts,
Jeremy (Katherine) Aeilts, Hannah (James) Rosenkrans, Nate (Armila) Aeilts, Andrew (Nicole)
Aeilts, Kelly (Andrew) Cooke, Amy (Zac) Nehls and Emily Blucker; twenty great-grandchildren;
one brother, Floyd Carson of Brookings, SD; and a sister-in-law, Gwen Carson of Bemidji, MN.
She was preceded in death by her parents; husband Lester: a son, Randall Aeilts; two sisters,
Carol Anderson and Hazel Erickson; and two brothers, Dale and Bruce Carson.
A memorial service will be held at 11:00 AM Saturday morning, September 30, 2023, at Printy
Funeral Home in Carthage with burial to follow in Moss Ridge Cemetery. Visitation will be held
from 9:00 AM until time of services at the funeral home. Memorials may be directed to the
Memorial Hospital Foundation for the Grow Our Own scholarship campaign, The 'Grow Our
Own' campaign seeks to raise scholarship funds that will be used to support Memorial Hospital,
Memorial Medical Clinics, and Hancock County Senior & Childcare team members in their
pursuit of higher education and certification completion.
https://www.mhtlc.org/foundation/donate/. Printy Funeral Home of Carthage is in charge of
arrangements.